Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku has raised the alarm about the housing affordability crisis in Tirana, stating that today an Albanian citizen needs an average of 18.6 years of work to buy an apartment in the capital.
In a public reaction, Tabaku stated that apartment prices have become unaffordable for Albanian families, while their increase is not related to normal economic factors or an increase in real demand in the market.
According to her, housing prices in Tirana have increased by 41.6% year-on-year, a rate that she described as the highest not only in the region, but also compared to many European Union countries.
"18.6 years without doing anything else, without counting living expenses, expenses or taxes that increase every year, just to save and buy an apartment. This shows that the market has become inaccessible to Albanian citizens," said Tabaku.
The Democratic MP emphasized that this increase is not justified by economic development, population growth or market competition, underlining that Albania is experiencing a "construction bubble" that, according to her, is directly related to money laundering.
"Construction has become a sector with fictitious growth, but unaffordable for citizens. The economy may seem to be growing, but this growth remains concentrated in a minority, while the majority of Albanians do not have access to it," Tabaku declared.
She described this situation as an example of a "minority system", where, according to her, economic benefits and public funds are concentrated in the hands of a small interest group, while citizens face increasingly higher living costs and a lack of opportunity to secure housing.
